We are the Lost Ones -
by PoolofFadedMemories
Summary: Truth's face grows grave, "Alphonse, the losing of his leg was just the price for the knowledge he received by going through The Gate and a leg is but a temporal formality. However the punishment he will receive for this taboo will be for all eternity; he forfeited his soul the moment he touched his hands to that transmutation circle."


_Dedicated to bez, who is always there for me and will always listen. I love you girl ❥_

We are the lost ones

A fine breed

We are the lost ones

Friends of God indeed

... Be the good in me ...

The tranquil trickling of the flowing water from a fountain; the delighting aroma of hundreds of gardens filled with flora of many kinds; the luminous sight of slight rays of sunshine breaking through the overhanging canopy of wispy willow trees and the view of the pale blue sky above; the sound of the jubilant cries of the sparrows diving across its great arc.

Calm, pleasing.

Peaceful

The sky suddenly turns scarlet, the sun a sickly orange. All sounds of life stop as the fountain's reflection blurs, all creation holds its breath as the one responsible for the disturbance frowns deeply at the sight he has just seen. "Humans are pathetic, will they ever learn?" Though it is not spoken aloud, or even hinted at, the world around him can feel his wrath and they remain silent, even the birds' chirps have been muted and the fountain has stopped it's continuous flow. No one dares to approach him now.

The silence is shattered by the soft padding of small feet on the marble steps leading down to garden and to the fountain inside it, but more importantly to the man standing beside it. The child speaks to him, completely unafraid.

"Is something upsetting you father?" The man turns around and the look of wrath on his face lessens, if only some, as he sees who it is.

"What does it matter to you son?" The man says as he looks at the little boy in front of him, with his soft and bright golden hair, the melancholy look on his face and his wide bronze eyes which at first seem innocent but they really speak of wisdom far beyond his appearance. However the man does not wait for an answer as he waves the boy to his side. "Look into this pool and tell me what you see." He commands and the boy smiles as he complies, softly replying to his father's wishes.

"I see a human, a young human at that, barely more than a baby. A child about the age of my immortal host." He pauses and squints at the moving image of the other blonde boy wearing shorts and a t-shirt who seems to be holding a smile pocket knife and frowns slightly as the boy nicks his finger just enough to draw blood, before proceeding to let a small drop of blood fall into a round basin filled with different assortments of elements all heaped together. He continues to watch as the small boy smiles, though the smile seems pained for some reason, as if the child has forced it. He feels himself frown deeper as the child kneels next to a large white circle which is filled different arrays, lines and symbols. It isn't until the child claps his hands and presses them against the circle that immortal realizes what is happening. "Father, is he...is he committing human transmutation?" When he receives a nod he is shocked, "But it's forbidden! Surely he knows that! Father, why is he-?"

"He is trying to bring his mother back to life." The immortal man, the **god **snorts slightly as if amused by this. "Whether he is doing it with good intentions or not, this is still a taboo. And he will know the punishment of defying the laws of nature." No sooner has he finished what he was saying then an agonized scream ripped forth from the scene of the fountain and the immortal child's eyes widened in horror as he saw the other boy's body being grappled by tiny black hands which were pulling him through a bright portal. The child grew fearful - not for himself, but for the mortal who had just been delivered to the door of their threshold; he knew what was coming next.

"Now you will see how the mortals are to be punished. I want you to watch but you must not interfere," his father says and with a wave of his hand they are suddenly transported to an endless chasm of white, with nothing to pierce it but the dark looming door the mortal had just come from. The immortal child shivers; it is _The Gate_.

"Father what are you going to-" The child stops as he sees his father change into the white form of an unknown god the mortals feared, the one Father said was the part of him he used for punishing the wicked, justice incarnate and was a separate and yet joined entity of his father. Truth.

The child watches with great interest as the boy runs back up to the gate and tries to pull the doors apart, pleading in a desperate but excited voice that he 'just needed to see it again, then he could do it right this time.' Then the boy sees Truth's expression, the sadistic smile he is wearing and his cold but humored voice as he tells the boy how exactly erroneous of a taboo he has committed and how he now has to pay the price for his new-found knowledge. The immortal child feels a pang of sympathy as he sees the young boy has no clue what he has really done, at how bad the consequences will be. Though to be fair, the immortal isn't sure what the punishment will be himself, so when he sees Truth point towards the boy's leg and watches it unravel into thin ribbons of light and hear him scream in agony, he can only feel one thing. Absolute horror.

He runs forward just as Truth opens his mouth and lifts his hand to most likely inflict more punishment on the mortal and throws himself in front of the latter, holds his hands up in a defensive position, and cries out in a loud voice, "Father, you must stop!"

Time stands still as he feels the other two beings in the room stare at him but he can't be sure who is more shocked at his course of action, himself, the mortal he was protecting, or his father. His mind stops and his eyes go wide as he realizes he has just disobeyed his father for the first time in his immortal life. He opens his mouth quickly to apologize but Truth speaks first. "Alphonse, what are you doing? This mortal is to be punished for what he has done. You must not stand in the way." The tone which he rebukes him with is soft but to Alphonse it feels condescending, as if it is implying that he doesn't understand what he was doing and is merely a little child.

"Father please, you must listen to me. What this mortal did cannot possibly be so bad that he must be punished so harshly?" He pleads but all Truth does is shake his head.

"First of all, I am not really your father - he and I are separate entities, you know that. So I will not have pity on you as He would if you do not get out of my way. Second of all, are you listening to yourself? This mortal committed the worst taboo that can be committed; he must pay for his sins by being brought to Justice, not by being shown mercy. To do otherwise would be defying and disobeying the laws of nature and the gods themselves." Truth is no longer smiling.

Alphonse pauses as he thinks about what Truth has just said. It was true that the mortal had committed the gravest sin and grievance against the gods that was possible and it's not like he owed this mortal a favor, or any mortal at that. His resolve falters; what is he doing anyways he wonders, it isn't worth being punished by Truth or losing his Father's favor for-

His thoughts are abruptly cut short as he hears a whisper behind him, one so quiet he never should have heard it at all and yet...he did. He turns his head around towards the mortal to meet his startled eyes, "What did you say?"

The mortal pales as he notices Alphonse looking at him and quickly lowers his frightened eyes, unable to meet in turn the soul-searching ones which were seemingly piercing right through him. "I..." He falters as if afraid to continue but suddenly stares right back into the immortal's now shocked eyes as he whispers in a shaky but determined voice, "I didn't want to be alone."

Alphonse suddenly feels nothing but sympathy and pain for this boy; he knows what it was like to feel alone, all he has is his father. But Truth obviously doesn't share his feelings as he crosses his translucent arms across his chest, "The ends don't justify the means. Move Alphonse, I have wasted enough time on this petty mortal; and I refuse to show mercy to someone who is already dammed. You really should be grateful I am not letting him bleed to death." Alphonse looks at him with a start and feels an explainable, violent rage as he notices that Truth is smirking.

"What do you mean damned? What are you going to do to him!?"

Truth's face grows grave, "Alphonse, the losing of his leg was just the price for the knowledge he received by going through The Gate and a leg is but a temporal formality. However the punishment he will receive for this taboo will be for all eternity; he forfeited his soul the moment he touched his hands to that transmutation circle. When he dies he will go to fields of eternal punishment for what he has done, such grave sins deserve no less." Alphonse eyes widen and he hears the mortal behind him gasps in horror as he realizes just what he has done and the immortal feels his face turn red with rage.

"But he is so young! How can you have him condemned for trying to bring back his mother? Condemned for not wanting to lose the only person he loves, for not wanting to be alone?!" Alphonse shouts, his hands clenching into fists. "Where's the sense of justice in that?"

Truth smirks, "Alphonse, he chose his own fate, he read and understood all the warnings. He knew full well he would be performing a taboo but he chose to do it anyway."

Alphonse flounders for an answer; it just wasn't right, this mortal didn't deserve to go to Hell. But he can't come up with anything and he knows Truth could tell.

"Alphonse. It is obvious that we both know he deserves this. Now step away from him, his fate is already sealed." And with that Alphonse suddenly feels himself moved by an invisible force away from the mortal, who he notices is shaking uncontrollably, tears are streaming down his face and sees terror in his eyes as Truth waves his hand towards the gate behind him which is beginning to open. The black arms shoot forward and clamp onto the mortal's remaining limbs, he struggles against their grasp but it is no use, in mere seconds he will be carried away and Alphonse realizes his fate will be sealed.

Wait a minute... Alphonse thinks, fate! He could help to change this mortal's fate! "Truth, wait! I'll make a deal with you!" The black arms abruptly stop pulling the boy towards the gate and for the first time since this whole ordeal started, Truth smiles genuinely as he turns towards him and says,

"What do you have in mind and what are you willing to pay?"

Alphonse tries ignoring the tugging sensation in his gut which is trying to warn him that this has to be a bad idea, Truth never lets someone off with the easy end of the deal and there was no negotiating with him when he has decided on his price."I want to change this mortal's fate, make it so that he doesn't have to go to hell. Is there any way to do that?"

Truth pauses for several agonizingly long minutes as he thinks about what Alphonse said, and both boys held their breath until Truth suddenly smirks and announces, "It can be done. But perhaps not as you imagine and you will have to pay quite a hefty price. Do you still want to hear my terms?" He asks in amusement.

Alphonse feels his heart pound heavily in his chest as he looks from Truth to the now crippled blonde who no longer looks at him with fear but with desperation and a silent plea in his bright golden eyes. As Alphonse gazes at him, he knows his answer. "Yes."

"Very well." Truth smiles as he waves his hand again and the black hands which hold the mortal captive release him and then slither away like snakes into the closing gate. "In order to know what must be done, we have to go the heart of this boy's nature." He looks up and all of a sudden both of the boys are seated at either side of a table with Truth at the head of it. "Now this boy claims that he committed the taboo because of Loneliness." Truth sneers a little at that and Alphonse notices in surprise that the mortal glares at the god for just a split second before he could notice. "If we solved this issue then he supposedly would have no need for wanting to bring back his mother. But in order for him not to be lonely, he would need a companion. Though not just any companion, someone he could relate to, someone who would depend on him and look up to him, someone like..." He pauses and points towards Alphonse, "a younger brother."

The mortal seems to forget where he is as he jumps up from his seat with a look of obvious disapproval. "What are you talking about? You don't seriously think that's going to help me, do you?" He suddenly turns towards Alphonse and a look of worry crosses his face, "he's crazy, this whole idea is crazy! I mean, I am grateful but you shouldn't have to do this. There has be a different way!" Alphonse looks at him in shock, mortals are supposed to be selfish; it is a part of their basic nature and thus most of them only think about themselves. But to think that this mortal is worried about him surprises him beyond belief. He takes a deep breath as he turns to face Truth.

"I don't have any other choice do I? This is the only way..."

"I'm afraid so, though to be honest I can't even guarantee it will work. It depends on if the mortal will repeat his mistake. You will both receive completely new lives and will not remember that any of this has happened, though if circumstances really change dramatically... he just might be able to redeem himself." Truth shakes his head, "But only time will tell."

Alphonse nods slowly, "Ok so if I am to become his younger brother, I am assuming I will have to give something up?"

"That is correct. If you are to agree to this position, you will have to give up all your memories of being a god. Not only that but you will lose your godhood, at least until you or this mortal dies. To put it simply, you sacrifice your divinity and its powers for being born as a mortal. You will have no help from the immortals whatsoever and you will experience all of the troublesome emotions and pains that mortals do. However, keep in mind that you could live a very long life filled with much hardship that will not end until you relinquish or come to the end your mortal life; only then you may reclaim your godhood. Do you understand what I am saying?" His tone is serious and Alphonse feels momentarily overwhelmed by the enormity of what is at stake; though as he glances at the boy across from him he feels that it will be worth it. "Yes."

"Very well then. Edward, your punishment is revoked." Truth snaps his fingers and pauses as the dumbstruck mortal sees his leg suddenly materializing back onto his body. "Oh and meet your younger brother, Alphonse." He smiles widely and then, without warning jams his hand into Alphonse's chest and before he can react Truth withdraws it holding a bright golden orb of light. "Alphonse, your divinity has officially been revoked. Welcome to the horror of mortality." No sooner has he said this then the gate flings itself open and the black hands seize both of the boys and pull them into its black cavernous depths. Truth calls after them just as the gates close,"Oh and don't worry boys, I am sure we will see each other again," he pauses, waving his hand in the air as his form flickers away, "now... Forget."

_~TBC_

**Author's Note:  
**Hello everyone, I am finally back to the fanfiction buisness and this is the prequel to one of the many stories I will soon be writing; meaning that there will be much more and that I should hopefully have some sort of update each month. (The 'poetic stanza' before the fic was inspired by the song "The Loved Ones - Sanders Bohlke and I highly suggest you check it out.)

With that being said, this was written as a very belated birthday/Christmas present for my best friend u/2752788/bezawesome who just happens to be the most amazing fma artist on devianart. :)

And last but certainly not least, please review!


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